Aims:
  • To study how to reduce maternal and household smoking behaviours during pregnancy and postpartum, among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Our research has found:

An increase in smokefree households following birth of a child, but also an increase in maternal smoking after birth. 

Implications for policy and practice:

The research concluded that a ‘continuum of care’ model is needed to support smoking cessation and to prevent relapse. This model should ideally start before conception or in early pregnancy and continues through to the postnatal period, when the risk of smoking relapse is high.

Chief Investigator:
  • Dr Vanessa Johnston
Contact information:
  • Dr Vanessa Johnston
Project dates:

This project concluded in 2011.

  1. Johnston, V., Thomas, D.P., McDonnell, J., &  Andrews, R.M. (2011). Maternal and household smoking behaviours during pregnancy and postpartum: findings from an Indigenous cohort in the Northern Territory. Medical Journal of Australia, 194(10), 556-559.